Chapter 32: Heading to New York

[Chapter 32: Heading to New York]

"Perfect, absolutely perfect!" As Joel stepped out of the luxurious hotel where the nightclub was, he couldn't stop reminiscing about Taylor's spontaneous performance earlier.

He turned around to look at the tall country music star beside him. "You were born for that stage."

"Come on..." Taylor quickly shook her head. She had no intention of bringing up the performance fee just yet; her publicist and manager wouldn't let her perform at a nightclub anyway.

Joel headed off, waving goodbye to Ryan, Abigail, and Taylor at the entrance.

...

"I have a songwriting meeting with Liz Rose tomorrow to discuss this new song," Taylor said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

This was how she typically approached her songwriting. She drew inspiration from moments, people, even a particular image or a phrase, which would quickly lead her to the core theme, parts of the lyrics, and a catchy chorus melody. That's where the spirit of the song came to life. The rest involved expanding those ideas and perfecting them, refining and polishing until they formed complete lyrics and melody, all produced alongside Nathan Chapman.

While the process of creating a song might take a considerable amount of time, capturing the "spirit" often happened in fleeting moments.

"What's the name of this song?" Abigail asked, linking arms with Ryan.

"It's called You Belong with Me," Taylor replied, her gaze fixed on Ryan.

"She writes her songs like they're stories. She even wrote a 300-page novel once called A Girl Named Girl..." Abigail explained as they got in the car.

Who knows if such experiences had sharpened her narrative skills? Either way, Taylor's lyrics followed a "narrative flow," setting her apart from the typical "emotional flow" style most lyrics pursued. In other words, calling her album a "Girl's Diary" felt quite fitting.

Now Ryan finally understood what that elusive inspiration was all about. The good news was: a new song was on the way. The bad news was: it was someone else's song.

As he replayed the lyrics in his mind, they seemed to echo a girl harboring a crush on a guy who was taken.

And when he thought about the contentment on her face as she sang those lyrics, it contrasted sharply with Ryan's recent creative struggles. It was clear who had the upper hand here. To put it bluntly, Ryan couldn't compare to Taylor without that "instant inspiration" to assist him.

"My parents aren't home tonight, just my little brother, Ryan..." Abigail suddenly mentioned.

Ryan, however, declined, saying, "I've got to head back and work on some music."

Abigail nodded, leaving the topic there.

...

Back at home, Trey was still awake. Yet this time, instead of the interrogative stance she'd taken before, she wore an inviting smile, almost eager to please.

"You're probably hungry, right? I made dinner for you, come eat," she urged, pushing Ryan towards the dining table and retrieving the food she had kept warm in the oven.

Ryan gazed at the dish in front of him, a dubious look crossing his face. "I'm not really that hungry," he said sheepishly.

"Just try a little," Trey smiled.

"Sure, it's great. But maybe don't make it again next time," Ryan said, trying to swallow a morsel that was way too salty.

"Hey, cooking's not really that hard," she laughed.

"Sure, sure."

"What do you want for tomorrow's dinner?" she continued.

"Um... by the way, the wind was really strong tonight."

"Stop changing the subject."

"Did I offend you or something?"

"Thank you, that's what I mean," Trey finally replied, revealing the cause of her earlier glee. "Today, the staff at Big Machine called me again. They retracted their request to change the director; I will still be directing Taylor's next music video. How'd you pull that off?"

"Technically, I gave Taylor a song," Ryan explained. After leaving Taylor's place last time, he hadn't been in touch until tonight.

Since Trey resumed her directing position, didn't that mean it's time for the social media manager that Taylor introduced to also reach out to him?

Looking at it that way, they were even now.

"I see. Does your name appear in the lyrics? Or is there a hidden message?" Trey suddenly asked.

For instance, there was the song Should've Said No, which didn't mention anyone by name in the lyrics, but the lyrics booklet included capital letters S, A, and M, collectively spelling out "Sam." Up until now, most of Taylor's songs had some kind of "secret signal," be it a word or someone's name, as part of her playful interaction with her fans.

"Well, I wouldn't know," Ryan shook his head.

"You need to make sure of that. This could be your shot," Trey said, awakening him from his thoughts.

"Besides, do you have any tangible proof to connect you two? Like intimate photos? Maybe even some videos?" Trey's eyes gleamed mischievously.

"Come on, that's just ridiculous," Ryan chuckled.

"It isn't a joke! Stars do that sort of thing -- they provide fodder for the gossip mill in exchange for attention. A celebrity without discussion topics is akin to a slow death."

"Taylor excels at this, you know her breakout single, right? It's called Tim McGraw -- the same Tim McGraw who's a well-known country music singer. His dad was a famous baseball player, and his mom is Faith Hill, the singer of the Pearl Harbor theme. She didn't even know Tim back then; she just mentioned her ex-boyfriend liked his songs. You get what I'm hinting at, right?" Trey teased.

Ryan remembered the song Taylor had written for him. All he needed to do was "accidentally" leak it, and maybe their story would make headlines by morning...

Then he recalled her brother's furious expression and the recent rumors swirling around Taylor, suggesting her love life was merely a ploy for songwriting inspiration, saying she had an affair with Scott, and claiming her songs were written by someone else.

"So, is there anything like that?" Trey persisted.

"Nope," Ryan said, shaking his head.

From that perspective, Tremor genuinely lacked a "talking point," relying solely on word-of-mouth to gain traction, which would take some time.

...

After dinner, Ryan settled in front of his computer, attempting to produce a new song. Half an hour later, he chose to give up. However, instead of shutting down the computer as he usually did, he hit play on the song Taylor had given him: Hot Day Afternoon.

After much consideration, Ryan made some adjustments to the song...

...

The next day, he received a call from the social media manager that Taylor had recommended him to -- who turned out to work for Big Machine Records.

"Five thousand? I must have heard wrong!" Ryan exclaimed when he picked up the phone.

"To be precise, that's for the first month -- $5,000. It includes full front-end design for the website, tailored to suit your music style, somewhat akin to Taylor's personal page. After that, it's $2,500 a month, which covers layout, posting personal updates, and consolidating news. If you want blog writing, we charge separately according to word count. The price only covers MySpace operation, any additional sites, like YouTube, will cost extra. Applying for a Facebook blue verification also incurs additional fees."

"What if I'm not happy with your designs?"

"You can give us feedback, and we'll make amendments until you are satisfied."

"And what if I'm never satisfied?"

"We'll keep revising until you are."

"Can I skip the design and just have you handle routine operations?"

"That can also be arranged."

Ryan expressed that he needed time to think before hanging up. This exceeded his expectations; the potential results were evident, but the cost was steep.

...

Ultimately, he dialed back, realizing that the income he was making from paid music channels was hardly enough to keep warm before most of it slipped away.

He needed to find ways to earn more money; Ryan thought he could not expect much from the Nashville nightclub.

Then Ryan recalled what Deadmau5 had promised him, quickly dialing his number.

"Of course, I keep my word. Don't forget, I have singles coming out too. The more eyes on you, the better it is for me," Deadmau5 replied.

From a business perspective, such exposure was usually reserved for those who matched his interests, but currently, Deadmau5's status couldn't compare to the renowned DJs in Europe. His level of "fame" hadn't reached a point of monetization, so he wouldn't make things difficult for Ryan.

"The first stop for our North American tour is in New York at a famous nightclub, this weekend we meet up in New York," Deadmau5 continued.

...

Ryan then contacted Joel.

"Sorry, Ryan. I asked them for another chance, but they might not be easy to work with," Joel said as soon as he picked up.

"But we're not out of options. I'll keep looking," Joel added, encouragingly.

"I found a place. This time, we're going to New York..."

*****

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